Armored aeroplane



ec. s, 1925. 1,6435% H. JUNKERS ARMORED AEROPLANE Filed June 28, 1920 Patented Dec. 8, 1925.

UNITED STATES I 1,564,354 PATENT OFFICE.

HUGO JUNKERS, OF DESSAU, GERMANY.

ARMOBED AEBOPLANE.

Application filed June 28, 1920. Serial No. 392,591.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HUGO JUNKERS, a citizen of Germany, residing at Dessau, Germany, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Armored Aeroplanes, of which the following is a specifiplates instead of the usual light covering.

his construction offers the a vantage that the armor plate can be attached to the body in a comparatively simple manner; however the drawback is connected therewith, that the considerable weight of the armor represents merely a dead load for the flying machine and that further the body frame has to be made especially strong in order to enable it to carry the heavy loads attached to it, whereby the wei ht of the flyin machine is further considirably increase According to the present invention this drawback *is obviated to a great extent by the armor plates themselves being utilized for transmitting forces arising within the body. To this end the individual armor plates are rigidly connected with each other so that the body formed by them represents a sort of plate girder. The body frame formerly used can now be dispensed with altogether,- a substantial saving in weight being thus effected.

In the case where the body does not merely serve for sheltering persons, motors,

. loads, fuel tanks, artillery or the like, but

plates, the rear portion being also acts as a connection between the tail rudders and the supporting surface. I prefer providing with armor only the front portion of the body, where the persons and the objects to be protected are usually dis posed, the rear portion of the body remaining unarmored. In such cases it suflices to construct this front portion after the manner of a plate girder composed of armor formed as usualas a lattice girder covere with fabric or as a thin walled hollow girder covered with veneers.

By dispensing with the inner frame in the armored part of the body a substantial saving of .space and weight is obtained inasmuch as the exterior dimensions of the body can be made correspondingly smaller,

.although the space available within remains the same, diminished also.

Particular advantages are derived from this improved body construction with regard to the arrangement of the motor which may now rest with its longitudinal supports on a number of cross frames transmitting its weight. as well as the thrust of the propeller immediately to the main supporting elements of the body, i. e. the walls formed of armor plates.

In the drawings accompanying this specithe air resistance being .fication and forming part thereof two forms of an armored aeroplaneembodying my invention are illustrated. In the draw- 1ngs Fig. 1 is a perspective view of an armored body, Fig. 2 is a side elevation and Fig. 3 a plan.

Fig. 4 is a cross-section on line IV-IV in Fig. 2.

Fig. 5 is a side elevation of a modified form of aeroplane with the' front portion only of the body protected by armor.

Referring to this drawings, the body shown in Figs. 1 to 4 consists mainly of the-two side walls 1 and 2, the central bottom plate 3, the oblique bottom plates 4 and 5, the front wall 6 and the rear wall 7. For the purpose of reducing the air resistance the body is continuously tapered or contracted towards the front wall 6. The plates 1 to 5 transmit all'forces acting in longitudinal direction, and quite especially the flectional forces resulting from the own weight of the body and the weight of the persons and objects accommodated therein, and further the forces, which arise Lndthe constructive parts attached to the The motor is arranged upon cross frames 8 and 9 immediately attached to the longitudinal walls 1 to. 5 and thus transmitting thereto the weight of the motor and the thrust of the propeller. The supporting frames 8 and 9 serve at the same time for bracing the body transversely against lateral and torsional forces. Further cross frames ma be provided for the same purpose, suc "as the frame 10, serving also as a support for the instrument anel.

As shown in Figs. 2 an 3 the armor may be supplemented so as to completely enclose the motor. For the purpose of provid- :double deck aeroplane.

- sary ing easy-access to the motor, this portion of the armor is preferably imparted the form of a door 12 swinging about hinges 11.

Fig. 4.- shows the armored body connected to thesupporting surfaces and 21' of a The supporting surfaces 20, 21 as well as the struts 22 to 26 are preferably connected to the body in such places, where two armor plates contact with their edges, this being the points of highest gld ty.

In t e aeroplane illustrated in Fig. 5 the armored front portion 30 of the body is constructed as described before. The rear portion' 31, serving only for connecting the tail rudders 33, 33 and the spur 34 to the front portion, preferably forms a lattice girder, covered with fabric, as usual.

The curved faces of the body portion formed of armor plates are preferablyconstructed as so-called evolvable faces, so that the armor plates, cut out according to the evolution outlines of the individual faces, need be bent in one. direction only. Ihe construction is simplified thereby quite materially inasmuch as armor lates can be pressed or hammered only w1th diflieulty; moreover an exact matching of the single plates at the curved edges is thus greatly facilitated, such exact matching being necesinasmuch as the individual plates must be rigidly connected with each other along their edges in order to enable the body as a whole to act as a girder.

I claim 1. Fuselage for armored flying machine s, consistin of two parts, a substantially stream lined front portion of polygonal shape and which is composed of armor plate,-

and an unarmored tail ortion, the armor lates constitutin the rent portion being oined to eachot er at obtuse angles and being bent in a single direction to converge in forward direction.

2. In a fuselage for armored flying machines, in combination, a shell-proof front portion and an unarmored rear portion,

said front portion comprising a substantially horizontal bottom, two substantially vertical side walls, and two inclined intermediate walls connectin and.- side walls and being joined thereto at obtuse angles, said ,front portion being formed of armor plate bent in a single direction so as to converge at the front end.

3. Fuselage for armored flying machines, consisting of two parts, a substantially stream lined front portion ofpolygonal shape and which is com osed of armor plate, and an unarmored tai portion, the armor plates constituting the front portion being joined to each other at obtuse angles and being bent in a single direction to converge in forward direction and load carrying partitions extending transversely across said front portion.

4. In a fuselage for armored flying machines in combination, a shell-proof front portion and an unarmored rear portion, said front portion comprising a substantially horizontal bottom, two substantially vertical side walls and two inclined intermediate walls connecting said bottom and side walls and being joined thereto at obtuse angles, said front portion being formed of armor plate bent in a single direction so as to converge at the front end and load carrying partitions extending transversely across said front portion.

5. Fuselage for armored flying machines comprising a polygonal front portion consisting of armor plate and an unarmored tail portion, the front portion being joined to each other at obtuse angles and being bent in a single direction to converge in load carrying versely across said front portion and a hood for said front portion comprising a pair of armor plate leaves hinged to said front portion.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

forward direction,

HUGO JUNKERS.

said bottom the armor plates constituting partitions extending trans-. 

